The present invention relates to vehicle interior airflow assemblies, and more particularly to an automatic vehicle interior airflow assembly.
Conventional vehicle interiors include airflow systems for driver and passenger comfort. These airflow systems typically deliver air into the interior of a vehicle by means of air outlet members which are suitably positioned within the vehicle interior to provide a comfortable climate for the occupants of the vehicle. For example, air outlet members may be provided on the face of the dashboard or on the vehicle doors. The air outlet members are connected directly or indirectly to one or more air ducts which serve as the air-carrying members. The air outlets are generally configured to be manually controllable with, for example, control knobs, such as thumbwheels, which are designed to allow air to flow through the air outlet members and prevent air from flowing depending upon the precise setting of the air outlet member. The air outlet members also typically include directional vanes which serve to direct the airflow. Typically, one or more air outlet members are provided on the driver side and one or more air outlet members are provided on the passenger side of the vehicle interior so that the entire vehicle interior may be efficiently climate controlled for the comfort of the occupants. Additionally, many vehicle interiors include rear passenger seats. In this instance, many airflow systems include one or more air outlet members suitably positioned to deliver air to passengers in the rear seat.
Oftentimes, only a driver is in the vehicle and the driver desires additional airflow. Conventionally, this is accomplished by adjusting the thumbwheels for the air outlet members and/or adjusting the directional vanes. For example, the driver may close the air outlet members which are not designed to provide direct air flow to the driver and/or the driver may adjust the directional vanes to change the direction of the airflow. Both of these techniques require manual adjustment of the air outlets and this requires effort because some of the air outlet members are distally located from the driver""s seating area. Thus, the driver will have to be in a stationary position to properly adjust these distally located air outlets. The manual adjustment of the air outlets likewise requires the driver to spend additional time to adjust the climate control system in an effort to provide a more comfortable driving environment.
The present invention describes a vehicle interior airflow assembly whereby air is automatically directed to the regions of the interior passenger compartment where occupants are seated. This is accomplished generally by including a sensing device on or within one or more seats in the vehicle interior. When the sensing device detects the presence of a body, a closing means such as a door coupled to one or more respective air outlet members is opened thereby allowing air to flow through these outlet members and into the vehicle interior where one or more occupants are seated.
In one exemplary embodiment, the assembly includes a vent assembly having a predetermined number of air outlet members for directing air into the vehicle interior. Typically, these air outlet members are fitted to a cross air duct which serves to receive the climate-controlled air and transfer the air throughout the vehicle interior. According to the present invention, each vehicle seat within the vehicle interior has a sensor associated therewith, wherein the sensor is configured for determining the presence of a body in the vehicle seat. The sensor communicates with the vent assembly so that upon detecting the presence of a body in the vehicle seat, the respective sensor sends a control signal for opening at least one of the air outlet members so that air flows through the at least one air outlet member and into the vehicle interior towards the occupied region(s) of the vehicle. In an exemplary embodiment, the sensors comprise mass sensors; however, it will be appreciated that any number of sensors may be used so long as the sensors are capable of detecting the presence of a body within the seating sections of the vehicle interior.
The vent assembly includes a number of actuators. Each actuator is operatively connected to one of the air outlet members so that upon receiving the control signal, the actuator causes a vent door to open and permit air to flow from the cross air duct and through the respective air outlet member and into the vehicle interior. The actuator may be mechanically linked to a component of the air outlet member and more specifically, the actuator is operatively linked to a control knob, e.g., a thumbwheel of the air outlet member, which is designed to cause the opening and closing of the door upon manual manipulation of the thumbwheel. In this case, activation of the actuator causes movement of the thumbwheel which in turn adjusts the position of the door relative to the remaining portions of the air outlet member to permit or prevent air flow through the air outlet member.
Advantageously, the airflow system of the present invention is designed to provide climate and comfort control to only the regions of the passenger compartment where one or more occupants are seated. This leads to more efficient air flow venting within the passenger compartment causing better climate control because the air flow to the occupied sections is not unnecessarily reduced because some of the air if being directed into unoccupied sections.